Many different tent configurations and structures are in existence, including tents having a dome-like structure formed from a canopy of fabric or other sheet or sheet-like material supported by bent support rods or poles connected to the canopy. Such rods are typically formed of a material which is relatively rigid and yet permits flexing. The rods, when flexed in arch form during assembly, cooperate with the canopy to provide the desired configuration of the tent.
Dome-type tents are not always as stable as one might wish, especially when subjected to external forces such as those produced by high winds. Furthermore, internal storage space is usually minimal in such structures.
The tent of the present invention incorporates structure which performs the dual function of adding strength and stability to the tent and adding article storage capacity inside the tent.
While it is known to incorporate pouches and shelves per se in tents, none of the known prior art arrangements provide the dual advantages of the present invention in a single structural combination.
The following United States patents are believed to be representative of the current state of the prior art in this area: U.S. Pat. No. 3,986,519, issued Oct. 19, 1976, U.S. Pat. No. 4,099,533, issued Jul. 11, 1978, U.S. Pat. No. 5,197,504, issued Mar. 30, 1993, U.S. Pat. No. 3,703,181, issued Nov. 21, 1972, U.S. Pat. No. 3,406,698, issued Oct. 22, 1968, U.S. Pat. No. 3,182,672, issued May 11, 1965, U.S. Pat. No. 2,802,478, issued Aug. 13, 1957, U.S. Pat. No. 2,511,974, issued Jun. 20, 1950, U.S. Pat. No. 2,197,791, issued Apr. 23, 1940, U.S. Pat. No. 1,51,622, issued Mar. 31, 1925, U.S. Pat. No. 1,124,263, issued Jan. 12, 1915, U.S. Pat. No. 985,002, issued Feb. 21, 1911, British Patent Specification No. 1,264,328, published Feb. 23, 1972, and U.S. Pat. No. 2,693,195, issued Nov. 2, 1954.
Pages 5-8 of the Sierra Designs 1978 Catalog illustrates tent designs which utilize an arched pole connected at its lower ends by a tension member in the form of a panel extending between the leg of the arch which allegedly reinforces the arch and increases its load-bearing capacity. The same feature is described in a 1982 Sierra Designs poster. Such feature does not appear to add any interior article storage capacity in the tent interior whatsoever.
Representative types of pouches, shelves or holders employed within dome-type or other tents are also shown on page 103 of the REI Camping '96 catalog and in a 1989 Sierra Designs brochure describing a "portable attic" releasably attached to a tent and hanging therefrom. So-called gear lofts or attics do not appear to contribute in a meaningful way to the overall structural stability of the tent. Hanging pockets or pouches have been used in tent structures but they are often of a structurally unstable character and have relatively limited capacity, often being essentially planar in configuration. Considerable sagging of pocket structure often takes place in prior art constructions and such pockets do not add to the strength or stability of the tent.